Robert Stevenson played out a “small theatre of the brain” in his dreams and believed that the actors, who helped create his famous book Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, were more talented than he was. Many creative individuals—such as Stephen King, Paul McCartney, and Salvador Dali—have also been inspired by dreams.
Researcher Laura Roklicer from the UK interviewed 26 writers to find out how often they use both ordinary and lucid dreams (LDs) to create their works. Nineteen of them reported being practicing lucid dreamers. Moreover, all but one of them had gotten an idea for a book from a dream at least once, and 17 had used dreams to work on existing projects.
Some authors dreamed entire stories, while others dreamed of individual elements that they incorporated into their plots. The respondents used ordinary dreams, as well as LDs, in which a writer can create a new world and believable characters, immerse themselves in the setting, and intentionally engage in dialogue. One of the respondents “teleported” to 1763 to study the environment and stand in the place of his main character. Another used the technique of “slowing down” the dream to focus on the details of the environment and experience it with all his senses.
Most lucid dreamers value their ability to become aware in their dreams. However, not everyone did. One female writer, though she had never experienced an LD, feared losing her creativity due to the intrusion of logic. Notably, two other negative reviews came from lucid dreamers. The second participant explained that it is difficult for her to come up with original ideas in LDs; therefore, as soon as she becomes aware she is dreaming, she forces herself to wake up because she finds the feeling strange. The third participant simply cannot stay in LDs, so he is convinced that they will not help him develop his creativity.
Have you ever created works of art in an LD?
The article was published in April 2023 in the International Journal of Dream Research.
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